MIKE TV Sampler (Almo Sounds)

A five track sampler featuring the work of the second ever band to be named after a character in Roald Dahl’s "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (Veruca Salt being the first), this Irish band, now relocated to London, peddle a pleasant enough indie vibe that probably thinks it’s somewhere between Talking Heads and the Pixies. Sadly, apart from "Kickback"’s hummable chorus and Rory McPartland’s Black-Francis-in-love vocals, there’s nothing memorable here, especially when compared to the thundering might of the equally unheard-of Glitterbox.